AFCON 2019: S/Eagles not under pressure to win title – NFF

The 1st
Vice-President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF),Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, has disclosed that the
federation is not expecting the Super
Eagles to win the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt at all cost.

Akinwunmi
said that the NFF would not put pressure on the Gernot Rohr-tutored team but
expect that the team should be at their best.

The Super
Eagles will begin their quest for their fourth glory when the biennial football
hostilities takes centre stage in Egypt from June 21 to July 19.

Akinwunmi,
however, said that the team had been given enough incentive that could aid
their performance during the football fiesta in Egypt.

“What we
have done so far as NFF is that we have put up a programme where the
footballers only have to think about football with no extraneous matters.

“So, we
expect them to be at their best and do their best. They should strive to win
the Cup and if they didn’t win, that does not mean that they have failed.

“They can
only be termed as failure if they failed to put in their best and we can judge
that with their performance. But sometimes efforts are not enough.

“Sometimes,
circumstances may arise, then, we should know that they have tried, not to win
at all cost,’’ he said.

Akinwunmi
urged Nigerians to support the team, adding that the support would help the
team to be at their best instead of putting pressure on the team.

“We expect
Nigerians as before to support the team in all the ways they can because that
is what they need right now and not that they should put pressure on the team.

“I also know
that Nigerians pray a lot, so I also expect that they pray for the team to
succeed in Egypt, those that are able to go and those that will stay at home,’’
he said.

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